An Assessment of the Employability Skills Needed by Graduates in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources at the University of Missouri

Abstract

The purposes of this descriptive study were to assess graduates' perception of the importance and competence levels of performing identified transferable skills in the workplace and use the Borich (1980) needs assessment model to identify the skills most in need to enhance the curriculum. The findings revealed that solving problems, working independently, and functioning well in stressful situations were perceived by graduates as being most important to their job, and identifying political implications of the decisions to be made was the least important. In terms of competence, graduates perceived themselves to be most competent at working independently, relating well with supervisors, and working well with fellow employees and least competent at identifying political implications of the decisions to be made. When using the Borich model, solving problems, allocating time efficiently, communicating ideas verbally to groups, and accepting constructive criticism were the skills with the highest mean weighted discrepancy score, indicating a high need for curriculum enhancement.

Determining the Effects of Cognitive Style, Problem Complexity, and Hypothesis Generation on the Problem Solving Ability of School-Based Agricultural Education Students

“…Employers in the agricultural industry desire employees who can solve problems efficiently and effectively (Robinson & Garton, 2008;. As such, school-based agricultural educators should encourage students to engage in relevant, hands-on problem solving activities whenever possible.…”

“…In fact, the ability to solve problems has been identified consistently as an essential skill for entry-level employment in the agricultural industry (Alston, Cromartie, Wakefield, & English, 2009;Graham, 2001;Robinson, 2009;Robinson & Garton, 2008;Robinson, Garton, & Terry, Jr., 2007). Employers desire those who are creative, inventive, and can think on their feet and solve problems (MacPherson, 1998;Robinson, 2009;Robinson & Garton, 2008;Robinson, Garton, & Vaughn, The fundamental goal of education is to foster student learning. Although learning is not synonymous to problem solving, the two are highly connected (Jonassen, 2000;Schunk, 2008).…”

How Cognitive Style and Problem Complexity Affect Preservice Agricultural Education Teachers’ Abilities to Solve Problems in Agricultural Mechanics

“…As such, those who are more innovative in nature should recognize this phenomenon and take extra measures to find success when solving more complex problems. This is especially important due to the fact that problem solving has been identified consistently as a desired skill for entry-level employment in the agricultural industry (Alston, Cromartie, Wakefield, & English, 2009;Graham, 2001;Robinson, 2009;Robinson & Garton, 2008;Robinson et al, 2007). Instructors of small gasoline engines should consider cognitive style as an important variable if they require students to troubleshoot engines as a part of the course.…”

Employability Awareness among Malaysian Undergraduates

“…The key element to enable graduates to keep up with those demands seems to be the employability skills and traits that are imparted during tertiary education. It has also become a common belief in industry that higher education institutions should equip graduates with the proper skills necessary to achieve success in the workplace (Robinson & Garton, 2007).…”